Renovating an active healthcare facility leaves no margin for error. Systems must stay online. Patients must be seen. Clinical operations cannot pause.
For a recent Medical Office Building renovation in Cobb County, those constraints shaped every decision, from early design coordination to the most complex systems switchover of the project.
The 93,000 SF five-floor renovation included extensive interior construction and exterior upgrades, all while the building remained fully operational. From the earliest preconstruction conversations, the client made one expectation clear: the facility could not be shut down or taken offline during normal business hours. Patients would continue to receive medical care in the building throughout construction, and Leapley had to safely coordinate work around them. Weekend and after-hours work allowed the team to make significant progress around this constraint, but it could only take them so far.
That meant the only path forward was precision planning.
Nine Months of Planning for Eight Days of Execution
Well before construction reached a critical point, the Leapley team began mapping a systems shutdown that would allow major infrastructure upgrades to occur safely and efficiently. The result was an eight-day, carefully sequenced electrical shutdown executed during Thanksgiving week – from November 22 through November 30.
While the team communicated early that a controlled shutdown would eventually be necessary, the client was initially opposed. Over months of coordination — including extensive weekend and after-hours work that demonstrated the team’s ability to plan and execute in an active environment — trust was established. With that foundation, the team presented a detailed shutdown plan built around a tightly controlled holiday window. After extensive review among multiple stakeholders, the client agreed under one condition: all critical work had to be completed within the strict eight-day window, with no disruption to patient operations outside of that timeframe.
This approach was highly unusual. The client almost never approved full shutdowns, particularly in medical environments.
Every move was planned in advance.
Plumbing was installed overnight around active exam rooms. Mechanical systems remained online while selective cutouts were created to route new plumbing without disrupting service. During the shutdown, systems were taken offline and restored in carefully sequenced phases across floors, allowing the team to complete critical tie-ins while maintaining control of risk.
The shutdown plan itself took nearly nine months to develop, coordinate, and validate — down to temporary power strategies, contingency protocols, and detailed task handoffs. The plan governed every hour of work during that eight-day window.
Round-the-Clock Execution, Controlled Outcomes
During the shutdown window, Leapley crews worked in continuous shifts to execute the plan exactly as designed. The schedule left no room for error, and each activity had to be completed in sequence to keep the overall switchover on track.
The success of the shutdown came down to control.
Each task depended on the one before it. Every system tie-in was scheduled to the hour. Power was shut down, rerouted, restored, and tested in phases across multiple floors. Trades worked in coordination, following a plan that accounted for constraints before they became issues.
By the end of the eight-day window, the infrastructure upgrades were complete and the building was fully operational—on schedule, without unplanned outages, and without any safety incidents.
A Model for Live-Environment Renovations
This shutdown was not about pushing harder; it was about planning and executing within the realities of an active healthcare environment.
Healthcare renovations require a different level of coordination, foresight, and accountability. This project demonstrated what’s possible when teams take the time to understand constraints, build alignment, and execute with discipline.
For Leapley, this MOB renovation reinforced a core belief: going beyond the build means earning trust, proposing bold solutions when needed, planning exhaustively, and following through with disciplined execution, especially when the margin for error is zero.
